I first read this novel over thirty years ago as well, but I didn't remember it as well as the other Hemingway books. Perhaps I confused it with the movie, which I remember as being pretty different. What strikes me now is that Hemingway abandoned his "minimalist" approach in this novel. It's large compared to his other novels, and I would have cut large chunks out - of course, I am not a writer of the talent and stature of Ernest Hemingway. What do I know? It could be about any war, and I honestly think it would be stronger if it were about "any" war, in the sense that a lot of the details about the Spanish Civil War could be omitted or made generic. The inclusion, near the end, of new characters while the "message" is being taken to headquarters is ripe for deletion. We know there is no chance the attack will be canceled, and the entire scene with the crazy general seems like Hemingway is just engaging in a little revenge against people he once knew.
The dialog is also tiresome. Why painfully represent the Spanish language that way? It's silly, at least to me. What's the point, really?
The return of Pablo near the end is also very unsatisfying. After all he had done, and after coming close to being killed by the others twice, he shows back up and is not shot on sight? Not believable.
Also interesting is the fact that the plot drives this novel forward. Not the characters. We want to find out what is going to happen. Will they survive? Will the bridge get blown up? Will the lovers be together afterwards? It's not a modern thriller, but there is little that would characterize this as a modern literary novel either. It's simply a good story.
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